Layering literacies: Computers and peer response in the 21st century

Abstract

Research into peer response work has a long history in the field of composition, and the work of my dissertation is to extend that research into the newer subfield of composition, computers and writing. Specifically I focus on the way students use multiple linguistic competencies (oral, print and electronic competencies) to perform a variety of selves in peer response. Drawing on the work of Erving Goffinan, the extant literature of peer response, work done in ethnomethodology, and research done in three first year composition classrooms, I outline the contours and strategies that students use to engage in peer response while using asynchronous computer technologies and speech. Ultimately, I argue for a multilayered conception of peer response in which students use electronic texts, printed texts, and talk to negotiate selves on a moment-by-moment basis. I examine the implications that this conception of peer response might have for the teaching of writing---paying particular attention to the role that talk plays in computer-based peer response work